SOEY MILK REVEALS HER CREATIVE PROCESS FROM SEED TO BLOSSOM IN HER NEW EXHIBITION AT COREY HELFORD GALLERY
On Saturday, September 8, artist Soey Milk will premiere her second solo show with Corey Helford Gallery: Inflorescence. In over 20 new paintings and drawings, Milk captures the most significant moments and eras from the timeline of her life, embodying them as vibrant portraits of some of her friends.
inflorescence
in·flo·res·cence \ ˌin-flə-ˈre-sən(t)s \
a : the mode of development and arrangement of flowers on an axis b : a floral axis with its appendages; also : a flower cluster
c : the budding and unfolding of blossoms : lowering
Since embarking on her career as a visual artist, Milk’s works have served as markers in the timeline of her life, with her able to summon memories of all the major (and small) events happening at the time she was creating them. In Inflorescence, the history of her work and the word’s various meanings collide with the pieces of art unfurling as chapters from the floral axis of her life, embodied as a bouquet of ethereal portraits that anchors her narrative as she created this new body of work.
An obsessive sketcher and doodler, for the first time ever, Milk will be showcasing the initial seedling drawings and ideas that would later blossom into some of her best-known paintings.
“Usually I will start with an idea and an image, then I spend a good amount of time creating a drawing of it,” says Milk. “These studies often serve as blueprints for my paintings. I work in many layers and glazes, and often on three or four paintings simultaneously. Usually my process will slow down significantly near finishing, then the tweaking hour comes where paintings are revisited and fine tuned until we are all happy.”
Inflorescence will also continue experimentation with embedded objects as a medium in her work, with painted-over wallpapers and fabrics comprising the background of some of her paintings, pulled from the rooms they were created in. In one piece, a feather from her chicken spontaneously made its way onto the canvas and was sealed in place by a layer of paint.
Soey Milk’s Inflorescence will open Saturday, September 8 with an opening reception from 7pm - 11pm in the Main Gallery. The reception is open to the public and the exhibit will be on view through October 13. The space is open Tuesday - Saturday, 12pm - 6pm. Corey Helford Gallery is located at 571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033.
About Soey Milk
California-based and Korean-born, Soey Milk is one of the young artists who has already made a name for herself not only in the United States but in the international art world. A graduate of Art Center in Pasadena, CA, Milk has carefully developed her inimitable style over the years becoming known for her portraits of truly alluring and beautiful women. Drawing a lot of inspiration from her South Korean heritage, she creates refined paintings and drawings which have the great balance between the sharp focus of the charming subjects and the vivid chaos of the background.
Born in 1989 in Seoul, Korea, Soey Milk moved to Southern California in the year 2000. At first, Milk’s path was leading her to become a ballerina but after she was first introduced to painting she decided to pursue the artistic career. The versatile artist, Soey Milk works primarily with oils and watercolors creating an outstanding narrative universe that is at once tender and strange. Characterized by the high level of meticulousness, attentiveness to details and powerful combinations of colors and shapes, her work evokes a certain level of sensibility and mysteriousness, floating between realism and abstraction. The porcelain faces of her often nude muses reveal an interior less innocent and pure than lead on to believe at first glance.
About Corey Helford Gallery
Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) was first established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer and creator, Bruce Helford (Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, George Lopez, The Oblongs) and has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art. Its goals as an institution are the support and growth of young and emerging, to well-known and internationally established artists, the production and promotion of their artwork, and the general production of their exhibits, events and projects.
CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today’s pop culture and collectively encompassing style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti and Street Art, and Post-Graffiti.
After nine years in Culver City, CHG relocated in December 2015 to a robust 12,000 square foot building in Downtown Los Angeles, where it continues to host exhibitions within the heart of the city’s art community. The current space boasts three separate galleries, each of which house individual artist and group exhibitions, whereas the main gallery offers 4,500 square feet, providing total immersion for its attendees. New exhibitions are presented approximately every five weeks. For more info and an upcoming exhibition schedule, visit oreyHelfordGallery.com and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.